13 in 13 Marathon No.6 – Saracens Marathon – Event Summary

Plenty of work went into the preparation for the Saracens Marathon, with both of us looking forward to getting under way at the original home of Saracens at Bramley Road. The start was certainly different to any of the other marathons we’ve run, and knowing that we’d have to navigate ourselves to Watford and then Wembley certainly added a little excitement to the proceedings. Maps were printed, camel backs filled, and the larger Dan had his three shirts packed to change into along the route (adding approximately 1 stone in weight to the rucksack that was being carried).

We set off with support from each of our families and quickly got into a nice stride along the pavements of North London. We knew the timings were tight for the finish at Wembley and had given ourselves plenty of time to ensure that we didn’t miss our cue. Additionally, we decided to work on a strategy which would see us walking for five minutes every hour, changing to five minutes every half an hour from three hours on (confusing!?).

At the start line

At the half way mark

The strategy worked surprisingly well, and we were both fresh when we made it Vicarage Road, almost exactly half way through. We took some time to refill the camel backs and for the larger Dan to change shirts (for the second time!) and were off again heading back into London.

Unfortunately, no matter how well the strategy seems to be going, you can’t always rely on the body to keep up. After only 5 hours sleep the night before, the smaller Dan started to struggle a little at about 27kms. Much to the amusement of the larger Dan, who is used to being the one to hold up the pace, while apologising for not ‘being a runner!’

This lead to a quick stop while we took on some much needed sugar in the shape of a large bag of Haribos. The sweets worked their magic and we were soon off, via the odd detour (poor map-reading!) towards Wembley. As the kms clicked over it was obvious that we would make it to the ground with time to spare. That was until the larger Dan stacked it on the pavement at 37km, leading to cramp in firstly the right, then the left leg. Some quick work meant we only lost a couple of minutes, and thankfully we were off again towards Wembley.

Danny at the finish line

Dan at the finish line

We arrived in plenty of time and had to worry more about cramping up whilst standing around than anything else. When the cue came, we ran at what looked like a leisurely pace, but was in fact about as fast we could go, round Wembley to a standing ovation, which was exceptionally special. I’d doubt we will get a better reception from any of the marathons we are due to complete between now and October, and this will definitely be something we’ll both remember for a long time.

As an added bonus, we made it onto Sky (you can check out the video below) and the charity got some good PR thrown in for free.

We want to thank everyone who supported us (we had 60 family and friends turn up on the day) and the team at Saracens for making such a special occasion possible. Next up, the London marathon, but as expected, we’re doing things a little differently, and running it the week before everyone else – why follow the crowd!

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DanielHow

Danny How is a close friend of Dan and Patricia who's daughter Amelie was diagnosed with Tay-Sachs in March 2011. He is one of the charity trustees and plays an important role in getting sponsors and promoting The CATS Foundation. Danny is also taking part in the 13 in 13 challenge with Dan Lewi!